Team India provided a reason to the millions Indian fans to celebrate and feel the essence of patriotism after Men in Blue registered comprehensive win against arch-rival Pakistan in the second match of the T20 Asia Cup 2022. Rohit & Co. delivered clinical performance in the game.
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was rewarded Player of the Match for his dominating all-round performance in the game, finished things in style as he smashed a maximum off the fourth delivery in the the last over of the match. The moment Pandya hit the six and sealed the deal for Men in Blue, Indian cricket fraternity along with cricket fans went into celebratory mode as India's victory came against their arch-rivals Pakistan. Several Indian cricket fans in the Dubai International Stadium were heard chanting 'India-India' and waving Indian flag in pride after memorable win.
However, Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary and President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), who was amongst the spectators in the stadium, landed into a controversy after refusing to hold Indian flag offered by an anonymous man. The video of the same has since gone viral on social media and several Indian cricket fans including opposition leaders have highlighted his refusal to hold the Indian flag and started mudslinging with controversial remarks.
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Speaking of the match, Indian bowlers were outstanding on the day as experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked four wickets in the game, while Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh returned with three and two wickets in the game. Avesh Khan could only take one wicket in the first innings of the game.
In response to Pakistan's 147, Virat Kohli (35 off 34), Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 29), and Hardik Pandya (33 off 17) batted brilliantly and ensured victory for Men in Blue. Team India have scored two valuable points in the points table and secured the top spot in the Group A. While Pakistan is at the bottom with negative net-run rate of -0.175.